The Actors Corner -

Building An Acting Portfolio

If you have vivid dreams of seeing your name in lights and becoming one of the few elite actors in this city, you need to first start off by putting a portfolio together.  A portfolio is similar to a resume.  In your search for an agent or potential employer, portfolio’s let them see what skills you have to offer the industry.  Since actors are a dime a dozen out here, building a portfolio that captures the potential agent/employers attention is vital to beginning a successful career.

You portfolio should begin with an acting cover letter.  Agent/employers receive thousands of portfolios on a daily and weekly basis.  With this in mind, and if you are sincerely serious about breaking into the industry, you want to open with a cover letter that captures the agent’s/employer’s attention.  Cover letters should be about three paragraphs. The first paragraph needs to introduce you to the potential agent/employer.  Let them know why they should choose you over someone else.  The second paragraph should list your most recent acting experiences.  The third paragraph should sum things up; more of a “Lets Get Together and Make This Work” paragraph.  Always be sure and close by thanking the agent for taking the time to go over your portfolio.

The next section of your portfolio should be your acting resume.  In you acting resume, you want to include all your acting experience.  You want to include any commercials or TV roles you may have been in.  You also want to include any plays you may have been in as well.  If you have any special skills such as singing or playing the piano, this would be the place to mention them.

Headshots should be the next section of your portfolio.  A headshot is a professionally taken picture of you from the neck up.  The purpose of a headshot is identification.  You want to include one headshot of yourself in a neutral pose and several other shots showing a range of different expressions.  This will give the potential agent/employer a better idea of what you are capable of.  You should definitely include at least one black and white headshot.  You could include a black and white headshot as well as a color headshot if you wanted.

You should include the remainder of your professional pictures after the headshots.  Be sure to choose carefully.  Ask the opinions of several different people when choosing which pictures to include in your portfolio.  You want to give the agent/employer a good idea of your range of expressions.

The last part of your portfolio should be a thank you letter.  This letter should restate that you are thankful for the time the agent/employer took to look at your portfolio.  Make the thank you letter short and sweet and to the point.

Remember that your portfolio should be impressive.  Take your time and go back over and double check every part.  Check your writing for spelling and grammar errors.  You could have the perfect portfolio and ruin it with simple grammar errors. 

After your portfolio is finished, promote yourself by showing it to as many potential agents/employers as possible.  You may have to start small and work your way up.  With hard work and dedication, the right agent/employer will come along.  It is possible for you to become the next Hollywood star.

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